by Paul Larsen
- The movie The Hurricane, is the true story of Ruben Hurricane Carter, a black, prize fighter who was imprisoned for a triple murder he did not commit. The police created false evidence and he was convicted in two trials by white juries. Carter wrote a book, The 16th Round, which told of his false conviction and what it was like in prison. A young student from a troubled background named Lazra was kind of adopted by some Canadians. They mentored him, teaching him to read and write. The first book he ever bought was the one written by Hurricane Carter. He finished it and asked his Canadian friends, "What are we going to do about this?" Through letters back and forth Lazra and Hurricane develop a relationship and eventually his Canadian friends made a commitment to find the truth and free Carter. They dug into the case and discover how the police falsified evidence. They got a new trial in federal court. While they are awaiting the judge’s ruling, Lazra visits Hurricane in his jail cell. Hurricane asks, "Do you think it was an accident that my book was the first one you ever bought?" Lazra said, "No". Hurricane says, "I don’t think so either. Reuben is a name from the Bible. It means, "Behold, a son." Lazra is short for Lazarus – he who has risen from the dead. You put them together and you get, "Behold, a son who is risen from the dead. Hate put me in this prison. Love is going to bust me out." Justice did prevail for Rubin Hurricane Carter. After more than 20 years in prison, he was acquitted and set free.
There are so many things that can imprison us. Fear is one of them. Many people are afraid of death. We certainly don’t want to die.
- Three friends from the local congregation were asked, When you're in your casket, and friends are mourning over you, what would you like them to say?
Artie said: "When people are looking at me in my casket I would like them to say I was a wonderful husband, a fine spiritual leader, and a great family man."
Eugene commented: "I would like them to say I was a wonderful teacher and servant of God who made a huge difference in people's lives."
Al said: I'd like them to say, "Look, he's moving!"
- Walter Breuning, the oldest man in the world, died this month at age 114. Here are his secrets to a long life:
Embrace change, even when the change slaps you in the face. Every change is good.
Eat two meals a day - That's all you need.
Work as long as you can. That money's going to come in handy.
Help others. The more you do for others, the better shape you're in.
Then there's the hardest part. Accept death. We're going to die. Some people are scared of dying. Never be afraid to die. Because you're born to die.
- There is an old story which depicts the joyful hope that the resurrection brings to our hearts and lives. It is about John Todd who was only six years old when both of his parents died. John was sent to live with a kindhearted aunt who lived about ten miles away.
Years later, the aunt became seriously ill and knew that she was close to death. She was afraid to die. She wrote to her nephew and told him of the fears in her heart. John Todd replied to his aunt saying: "It is now 35 years since I, a little orphan boy of six, made the long journey to your house. I still recall my disappointment when, instead of coming for me yourself, you sent your hired man, Caesar, to fetch me. I can remember my tears and anxiety, as perched high on your horse and clinging tightly to Caesar, I started out for my new home. As we rode along and night fell, I became more afraid. I asked Caesar, 'Do you think she'll go to bed before I get there?'
'Oh, no,' he answered reassuringly. 'She will be sure to stay up for you. You will soon be able to see her candle shining in the window.'
And just as promised, there was your candle. I remember you were waiting at the door and that you lifted me down from the horse and hugged me. There was a fire on your hearth and a warm supper on your stove. After supper, you took me up to bed, heard my prayers, and then sat beside me until I fell asleep.
You undoubtedly realize why I am recalling these things. Some day soon God may send for you, to take you to a new home. Don't fear the summons, the strange journey or the messenger of death. At the end of the road, you will find love and a welcome waiting for you. You will be as safe there as you are here. You will be in God's love and care. Surely God can be trusted to be as kind to you as you were to me."
Being set free from our fear of death can change our life. It can assure us that we do not need to be afraid of things in life as well. We all have so many things that threaten us and can fill us with fear.
The economy scares us. The world is in trouble so we are afraid that we might lose our job or that we might lose our house or that we might outlive our retirement funds.
Kids can be afraid that other kids won’t like or accept them. They can be afraid that they won’t be accepted by the college of their choice or that when they graduate they won’t be able to find a job.
We can be fearful of getting cancer or suffering from dementia or getting in an accident. There are just so many things that can imprison us with fear.
We can find ourselves locked in dark dungeons of terror and fright, but God’s love busts us out. God’s boundless love shown to us in Christ’s willingness to die for us on the cross, sets us free from fear. When God defeated death by busting Jesus out of the grave he showed us that He is powerful enough to set us free from all that frightens us.
When Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to the tomb there was a great earthquake and an angel of the Lord rolled back the stone and his appearance was like lightening. And they were afraid. But the angel said to the women, Do not be afraid. Angels always say that. It is almost always the first thing they say and they are still saying it to us. God has promised to be with us always. God has promised to give us the strength and courage to face whatever comes our way. With his presence and power, with his love and grace God busts us out of our prisons of fear.
We can be imprisoned by addiction, by a dead end job, by hatred and prejudice, by grief and loneliness, by so many things. But God’s love can bust us out. God’s love, which is stronger than death, is strong enough to empower us to live a new life – a resurrected life.
ELCA Presiding Bishop, Mark Hanson tells of meeting Pastor Lauvanus, president of the Lutheran Church of Haiti. As they walked through the ruins and rubble that lie in the aftermath of Haiti's earthquake, Pastor Lauvanus proclaimed, "We will not be defined by rubble, but by restoration, for we are a people of the resurrection".
Baptized into Jesus' death and raised to newness of life we, too, are people of the resurrection. We, too, are about God's work of restoration. We can live a life where we know that there is nothing that can ever separate us from God’s love and where we can share that love with everyone around us.
One of the hardest prisons to bust out of is the prison of anger and resentment. When someone has hurt us deeply it is very difficult to forgive them.
- In 1993 Mary Johnson attended sentencing of Marlon Green, who had shot and killed her only son, Laramuin, at a house party. Just days before, she had stumbled across a poem that helped shape her life. The poem was an imagined conversation between Mary, the mother of Jesus and the Mother of Judas Iscariot as they talked about the pain of losing their sons. During Green’s sentencing, Mary Johnson hugged his mother and told Green that she forgave him. Yet, for 12 years doubt lingered: did she really?
She said, "I was angry and hated this boy, hated his mother. My son’s murder was like a tsunami. Shock, Disbelief, Hatred. Anger. Hatred. Blame. Hatred. I wanted him to be caged up like the animal he was."
Mary Johnson eventually founded a support group called From Death to Life: Two Mothers Coming Together for Healing. It was based in part on that poem. She counseled mothers whose children had been killed and encouraged them to reach out to the families of their murderers, who were victims of another kind. She said, "Hurt is hurt, it doesn’t matter what side you are on". She relied on her faith to get her though. She knew she needed to forgive Marlon Green. So she did something frightening and remarkable. She asked to meet Green in prison.
In preparation for the meeting, Mary met with female inmates at the Shakopee prison and saw a little of herself in some of them. She said, "That is when my heart began to change. I begin to see them as people, not animals."
The day she met Green is etched in her mind forever. Green had changed physically and mentally in the last 12 years. Slowly they began to tell stories. He talked about his life. Mary talked about Laramuin, the son she had lost. Before she left, she turned to Green and said, "I forgive you from the bottom of my heart".
Green asked incredulously, "Ma’am, how can you do that?" He asked if he could give her a hug and when they embraced, Mary sobbed so hard that Green had to hold her up. Mary says, "That’s when I felt it – All that stuff, all that junk deep inside me. I felt it rise up and leave me. Like nothing I have ever felt before. I had loosed him and let him go. The meeting was a resurrection of sorts of the person I used to be."
Since that day, the two have met many times and have spoken together to inmates to show the power of repentance and forgiveness. Once Green is released from prison, they hope to work together to spread their message. In the meantime, Mary Johnson has busted out of her prison of hatred, anger and resentment. The key to her release was forgiveness. She was finally able to forgive because she understood how much God had forgiven her.
The message of Easter tells us that we have new life. We are resurrection people. We are set free from the fear of death for we know God promises to raise us to new life.
God’s love can set us free from fear, anxiety and worry for we know that God has promised to be with us and give us the strength we need.
God’s forgiveness can set us free from our guilt and shame and even from our anger and resentment. Knowing that we are loved and forgiven can empower us to love and forgive those who have wronged us.
Alleluia! Christ is risen. God’s love has busted us out of our prisons and set us free to live a new life. Amen.
(Comments to Paul at paullarsen47@gmail.com.)